Singapore now has a museum studies course

Heritage (and archaeology) training at undergraduate level and higher are very slim pickings in Singapore, so university programmes in museum studies is news. Note the interesting term “cultural industries” – does that mean in Singapore, that culture is a commodity to be manufactured?

Two programmes here are breathing life into history, by getting schools to set up their own heritage corners, and training older students in the intricacies of managing museums and galleries.

Heritage education was provided to university students for the first time earlier this year, with the launch of a museum studies course. This was announced on Saturday by the National Heritage Board (NHB), which teamed up with Singapore Management University (SMU) to create the course. It was offered in January and will be offered again next year, covering subjects such as curatorship, exhibition design and layout, education and programming. “The course better prepares our graduates to enter the growing job market in the cultural and creative industries,” said Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Lawrence Wong. NHB and SMU will also be signing an agreement to explore other areas of collaboration.